


Ten Questions with the King of Duels

by Ariasune



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Character Study, Gen, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariasune/pseuds/Ariasune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Domino Press spends twenty minutes with the famous KING OF DUELS and learns more about what lurks behind the mind of the PRE-EMINENT duelist of the modern age.</p><p>Interviewed by ISHIDA AOI.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Questions with the King of Duels

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by [this lovely person](amythewhitetiger) \- I hope this is okay; I personally had a lot of fun working within this style, although I sure do miss prose!

_CREATED by Maximilian Pegasus, Duel Monsters has rapidly become the game of a generation, and with the creation of complex dueling holographic systems by the renowned Kaiba Corp, it only stands to become more popular than ever.Today the world-famous champion of Duel Monsters, and King of Games, Mutou Yuugi, has kindly agreed to an interview with me._

_I feel distinctly out of my depth upon entering the Kame Game Shop - run by Yuugi's grandfather - as the entire place is lined wall to floor with the very latest in video games, table top rpg and of course, Duel Monsters. However, I'm soon ushered into a back area, and prepare to face the unexpectedly short King._

**ISHIDA:** So -- I have to ask before we start, but just how hard is it to maintain your hair!

 **M.Y:** I guess you do have to ask that - uh, I guess it's mostly the fringe that gets in the way. I don't see why everybody worries so much about my hair though. It's pretty easy to manage, you know, when you're not on a blimp!

 **ISHIDA:** Ah yes, the notorious Battle City Championships. Want to weigh in on those rumours surrounding Battle City for everybody?

 **M.Y:** Uh - what sort of rumours are those?

 **ISHIDA:** Several members of the finalists were apparently injured quite a bit during that Championship -- there was a lot of talk about shutting down private tournaments after that. What did you think about these accusations towards Mr Kaiba's professionalism?

 **M.Y:** I think, if we could move to the next question? I consider Kaiba something of, well maybe not a personal friend, but I don't really feel it's my place to talk about Battle City.

I can say that I'm glad private tournaments remained open -- we run a few in fact, not big tournaments, but it's good to encourage the private tournaments too.

 **ISHIDA** : That's no trouble! If you don't mind, you say you consider Kaiba -- not a personal friend -- but your relationship with the prior reigning champion has been the talk of the papers for years. Just how difficult would you say your rivalry is?

 **M.Y:** Now this I can talk about! Hm, not that bad. At the end of the day, we're colleagues and I have a lot of respect for him as a duelist, he- yes, he has learnt to put faith in the Heart of the Cards and seeing him grow stronger is something we really admire. I can only imagine his talents will grow.

We're certainly looking forward to seeing him again in future. Not to mention all his contributions to the technology behind Duel Monsters deserve a lot of recognition too. 

Over-all Kaiba may not be a personal friend, but we're proud to consider him our rival, and my friendship is always there if he wants it. I think he might just want my crown though.

_Yuugi has been giggly through most of this interview, and honestly has been very sweet, but it's truly infectious thinking of the elegant Kaiba Seto being so covetous!_

**ISHIDA** : You've spoken at great length in the past about the Heart of the Cards, for a layman, how would you explain it to them?

 **M.Y:** I suppose -- well your deck, if you've put love into it, it's not against you. I can't tell you how many times my deck has responded to me when it felt like the fate of the world was at stake. Drawing exactly the card you need when you need it makes you all too aware how much you rely on the draw. I guess that's the Heart of the Cards. The thing that answers back when you ask for help.

 **ISHIDA** : So in a way you might call it luck?

 **M.Y:** I wouldn't say that. Luck is a strategy based on gambling style cards, the Heart of the Cards is more like -- the faith and trust you put into your cards. I think most players would agree with me when I say your deck needs love.

Oh I know, my other side would say a deck is like a ship, love keeps it going. You can't play Duel Monsters without feeling something, or your deck just isn't going to respond to lukewarm emotions.

 **ISHIDA** : And the notorious other side! It's often said you're practically a different person when you duel -- just what sort of person would you call yourself when you duel?

 **M.Y:** A lot more lost than I'd like to admit! But very confident, and cool; I have a lot of admiration for my other side. I guess that sounds a bit arrogant, it's not meant that way though. No, but maybe he'd mean it that way based on his expression.

 **ISHIDA** : Moving on, some critics of the game say it's almost impossible to play, yet you've made a name for yourself from doing just so. Would you have anything to say to those sorts of people?

 **M.Y:** Duel Monsters is definitely complicated, eh -- you have to remember not only the effect of your cards, but the effects they have in combination with other cards, yours and the opponent's, and then you should probably learn about the sort of combinations they can play so you can prevent them setting it up.

I think really you've just got a lot of memorizing ahead of you, I heard someone say Duel Monsters was basically an Extreme Version of Chess... with dragons. I can't really think of a better way to improve chess, but that's just me.

 **ISHIDA** : Okay, and who would you say is the up and coming duelist of the year?

 **M.Y:** Hm, I would usually say Katsuya Jonouchi, but after doing so well in both Kingdom, City and KC, it'd be far-fetched to call him an up and coming star, huh? I think in my position it's a bit hard to say -- I meet a lot of talented duelists, most of them already stars -- so I'd probably only be able to name people at my own level, which is awkward to say the least. I think I would say Rick who helped me face the computer system back before the KC.

We both thought his deck could win if it was just given the chance, and I'd say that we definitely proved. I've been trying to stay in touch with Rick, and he seems to be improving. Yeah, Rick I'd say. Keep an eye on him; with a dragon themed deck, he might just be the next Kaiba or Ryuzaki, huh?

 **ISHIDA:** I guess this segues into my final question, who would you say is the best duelist at your own level! Obviously Battle City's Namu Ishtar has retired from dueling, although KC's prodigious Leon is still very much around -- but official ranking can't be everything! Who would you think to watch out most for?

 **M.Y:** I heard about M- Namu's retirement, he'll be missed -- but given everything... ah. Enough about that.

Hm, at my own level, well I think whatever I answer, somebody is going to feel a bit put out, so I shouldn't really -- Kaiba. He duels with all he has and it'd be disrespectful not to admit as such. 

_Yuugi has this strange ability to jump between such presence and an utter innocent -- this is no doubt what fans means when they talk about the Two Yuugi's. He has a habit of losing focus, even talking to himself, and his fervent belief in the Heart of the Cards is nothing short of eccentric, but I suppose interesting minds lead to interesting hair, and you can't deny he's got his own style._

_It's really not that hard to believe such a character could be capable of so completely dominating this game!_

_Ishida Aoi_


End file.
